The Playing of Roles

[Harry685]

Since the beginning of man, there has always been men and women taking on the roles of others. Whether it be in story, song, or taking a friend's place at work, they have pretended to be not who they are, but another. In more recent years, this tradition has continued and expanded with the introduction of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games, otherwise known as MMORPGs. In these games, players would take on the role of their characters, and venture into worlds beyond their imagination. They would level up (which would be accompanied in most cases by a beautiful light show emanating from the character's body), kill random bystanders, and skip along merrily while music played in the background. The characters themselves, however, would think none of this was out of place in their world. Why shouldn't it be? It was just everyday for them, being unknowingly controlled by the player. What if, however, the world began to change for the character after the player had logged out? What if the background music was no longer considered normal, others noticed the random flashes of light, or people even started to consider the random slaughter bad????

Our story takes place in the not-so-distant future, in a not-so-parallel world, in the city of New London. The citizens of New London have long enjoyed a period of social unrest, coupled with an ever-growing crime rate, and a youth whose passion is staying inside on their computers all day rather than taking hold of the world in which they reside. The government has since given up on controlling the rebelling masses, and has instead turned to making sure that the younger generation grows up in a "controlled" manner. They use the games the youth play to schedule their entire lives; creating times of the day for government-regulated education, and for controlled "play". Against the will of their parents, many of the younger generation have been taken away from their parents at the age of 9, living in government-sanctioned "schools", where they are to continue their work and play until their graduation at age 21, when they are allowed outside of the school borders, and into the rest of the city as adults, free to make their own decisions.

One day, however, children begin to notice that their in-game characters start to act strangely, not obeying the keystrokes of the players, even formally talking out and against the player! A few students have even reported their characters coming to life in the real world!! (Rest assured, these troubled youth have since been taken to intensive mental care facilities)

The government, of course, began covering these stories up at once, condemning those who spoke them to a lifetime in a padded cell, regardless of age. Even if students noticed anything strange in their gaming, they would keep quiet in fear of the consequences. Some, however, have begun to listen to what their characters are saying. Some have been driven mad, while others learn the truth from the new knowledge. Some have even begun to rise up against the government, wielding powers not yet seen in this world. But for a group of young friends living in the north-most school in the city, how will this revelation change them, change those around them, and change everything they have ever known?

[Harry685]

A lone warrior stood at the peak of Lumi Mountain, its sole inhabitant, the great dragon of the North, dead at the warrior's feet. The warrior was none other than the great Ivan Kingslayer- Dragonslayer, now. He walked into the cave of the great beast, eager to indulge himself in some of its horde of treasure. There within the cave stood mountains upon mountains of gold, silver, and various precious stones. But what Ivan was looking for was something greater. It was the legendary Sword of Lost, that which let its user hold the power to transport himself anywhere in the blink of an eye. Nearing the chest that held the sword, Ivan cast aside his own, no longer requiring it. He stopped in front of the chest, raised his hand to the clasp, took a hold of it, and-

"Jake Vizor, I Have To Advise You That Your Scheduled 2 Hours Of Play Has Come To An End." A robotic voice droned, "It Is Now Time For You To Indulge In Previously Prepared Sustenance For Your Continued Human Life."

"DAMMIT!" The previously-named boy Jake Vizor cursed, "Can't you just give me another minute?" He yelled at the robotic monitoring system.

"Negative," The system replied, "Your Game However, Will Be Saved For You, As Always. I Personally Ensure That Ivan Will Be In His Same Exact Position When You Return. Please Proceed To The Cafeteria At This Time."

"Fine," Jake grumbled. He stood up off his rickety wheeled-chair ever since he had arrived at New London Academy North 7 years ago, grabbed his black jacket and slipped on his black trainers (both presents from his creepy death-obsessed aunt), and checked his ear-length blonde hair in the mirror next to his desk before exiting out of his door, putting on his jacket as he did so. His hands found their place in his jacket pockets as they usually did, and he proceeded with the rest of his floor down the east hallway, toward the northeast-most part of the school - the cafeteria.